Tag archives for Indigenous Knowledge

A 600-year-old section of a waka (canoe) hull has been found in Anaweka on the South Island of Aotearoa.

As Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia sail into the future of voyaging, exciting findings around the world contribute and retrace past voyages of our Polynesian ancestors, confirming our pilina, or relations, throughout the Pacific. In Anaweka, on the northwest part of the South Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand), the discovery of a carved section of a waka has done just that. Video courtesy of ʻŌiwi TV.

Having reached New Zealand using the same techniques as their ancestors, modern Polynesian voyagers pay a visit to a fascinating artifact.

Home to over three quarters of the world’s coral species, The Coral Triangle is the underwater equivalent of the Amazon. It encompasses an area half the size of the United States and harbours more marine species than anywhere else on the planet. From Borneo down to the edge of the South Pacific, the Coral Triangle has some of the most breathtaking underwater landscapes, but the majority are buckling under the pressures of overfishing, resource extraction and climate change. Text and Photos by iLCP Fellow James Morgan.

The Ese’Eja of the Madre de Dios Amazon region in Peru received a Genographic Project Legacy Fund grant to help preserve their culture, stories and language. As outside pressures mount and the battle with the Peruvian government over resources continues, Ese’Eja President Carlos Dejaviso Poje asks: Will our culture be here tomorrow?

When the conveniences of Western healthcare are removed, how do you treat an illness? “A Healer’s Meridian” explores the power of healing in Laos, where Eastern traditions intersect with Western treatment.

‘In the forest, we see with our ears,’ says José Carlos Meirelles, an expert on Brazil’s last uncontacted tribes. During his recent expeditions into the remote rainforest of Acre state, contacted Indians told him that uncontacted Indians imitate different animals to express emotions: wild pig when they are scared, macucau bird to let people…

Like other indigenous First Nation communities throughout Canada, the Tla-o-qui-aht people are survivors. Over a century of cultural genocide, Christianisation, forced assimilation, land alienation and re-settlement reduced their numbers tenfold and pushed them to the brink of extinction. But despite environmental, social and cultural upheavals, the Tla-o-qui-aht are slowly but surely strengthening their ability to…

By Shaunna McCovey The indigenous people living on the southern Oregon coast have always understood that the ocean and its creatures must be respected. According to the tribal lore of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw, Thunderbird was the chief of the ocean, and of all the ocean’s creatures, salmon was…

Like other indigenous First Nation communities throughout Canada, the Tla-o-qui-aht people are survivors. Over a century of cultural genocide, Christianisation, forced assimilation, land alienation and re-settlement reduced their numbers tenfold and pushed them to the brink of extinction. But despite environmental, social and cultural upheavals, the Tla-o-qui-aht are slowly but surely strengthening their ability to cope…

Like other indigenous First Nation communities throughout Canada, the Tla-o-qui-aht people are survivors. Over a century of cultural genocide, Christianisation, forced assimilation, land alienation and re-settlement reduced their numbers tenfold and pushed them to the brink of extinction. But despite environmental, social and cultural upheavals, the Tla-o-qui-aht are slowly but surely strengthening their ability to cope…

Like other indigenous First Nation communities throughout Canada, the Tla-o-qui-aht people are survivors. Over a century of cultural genocide, Christianisation, forced assimilation, land alienation and re-settlement reduced their numbers tenfold and pushed them to the brink of extinction. But despite environmental, social and cultural upheavals, the Tla-o-qui-aht are finding creative holistic solutions and restoring their…

By Shaunna McCovey The Tolowa Dee-ni’ of the Smith River Rancheria in California have always been the caretakers of the ocean and coast. During the summer months, Tolowa families set up camps to fish for smelt on the local beaches. Caught smelt are elaborately arranged on the sand to dry while Tolowa fishermen and women watch…

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